Advertising plays an influential role in 21st century men's magazines by using sophisticated techniques to manipulate readers. Older magazines focused mainly on pornography and sports, featuring mostly sexualized images of women. This objectified women and promoted negative body images. Modern magazines have moved away from this approach in response to societal emphasis on gender equality. Today's magazines and advertisements focus more on men's lifestyles, health, fashion and identity. Advertisements aim to create consumer needs and present luxuries as necessities to improve men's social status and positions of power through product purchases. This format funds the magazines while guiding readers towards improved self-images defined by consumerism.

1. What role does advertising play in 21st Century men’s
lifestyle magazines?
(WHAT ARE THE CHANGES IN THE CONTENT AND ADVERTISING IN MEN’S MAGAZINES OVER THE LAST DECADE?)
This essay investigates advertisements in 21st Century mens’ lifestyle
magazines. In order to do this, it will identify the different techniques that
are used in order to sell products. Identity will be one of themes looked
at, to establish how the notion of this is exploited by advertisers. The
theories of, David Gauntlett and Malcolm Barnard will be referred to
provide an understanding of the importance of identity.
(Blore, C. (2000). Barnard, M. (2002).)
Advertising plays an influential role in men’s lives through the medium of
the magazine, as the images therein often reflect men’s aspirations. The
essay will look at how the advertising techniques used today are more
manipulative in persuading consumers that their lives could be improved in
some way by the purchase of a product, which will fulfil their ‘needs’.
It will explore advertising in context, looking at how necessary it is for
advertisements to be appropriate to the theme of the magazine. It will
also look at how the relationship between the content and advertising
serves to reinforce ideas contained in each of these.
A contemporary approach will be taken and examples of advertisements from
men’s magazines will be analysed in order to illustrate the various techniques
used. The importance of visual communication will be discussed in relation to
the nature of the magazine
Readership type has to be considered regarding the number of
advertisements which would be expected by readers. For example, in a
more informative magazine, fewer advertisements would be expected.
However, this is currently changing, as readership numbers are decreasing
because of the introduction of new media, which has made print less

2. popular. Magazines are therefore now in a position where they are forced
to try to increase sales through increased advertising. This means that
some advertisements are gaining a wider audience.
The nature of men’s magazines in the 21st
Century differs from that of the
preceding century. This was to have an impact on the type of advertising
that was included in the publications.
The Men’s Magazine, Nuts in the 20th
Century stereotypically took for its
content, pornography and sport. The advertising in the publication focused
mainly on sport, alcohol and how to attract women. The techniques used
were unsophisticated and less manipulative than those of today.
The ending of the Men’s Magazine, Nuts, highlights the fact that Men’s
Magazines have largely moved on from the old 'pornography and sport'
stereotype. This progression inevitably has changed the direction of
magazine advertising.
A big change in the 'magazine world' was highlighted with the demise of most
of the 'men's magazines', which were popular five to ten years ago. A good
example of this is the Men’s Magazine Nuts, shown in Fig 1.
"Soon after it launched in 2004, Nuts magazine became a
phenomenon, selling more than 300,000 copies a week. Along with
its rival Zoo, it created an entirely new magazine sector - the
weekly ‘lads’ mag’, full of boobs, sporting trivia, gross-out pictures
and terrible jokes. In the last half of 2013 it sold 53,000 copies an
issue, a drop of 33 percent year on year. It would not take that long
at that rate of decline to get to 0." (Smith, 2014)
Another main reason for the reduction in sales of the 'old men’s magazines'
is the idea of sexism, as illustrated on the front cover of Nuts’ June 2004
issue. (Fig 1).

3. "The view that they are sexist is often based on the observation
that the magazines usually contain several pictures of women
wearing clothes which are small, or not there at all, and in seductive
poses (but without 'showing everything' in the style of
pornography)." (Gauntlet, 2002. p.173)
In recent years, sexism has become more of an issue in society generally as
sensitivity has increased regarding how women are presented and how this
affects their perception. This in turn has affected the content of men’s
magazines, as openly sexist images have become less acceptable and sales
have dropped as a consequence. This has caused a major change in both
content and advertising in men’s magazines.
Objectifying women was a contentious issue recently raised by society, as it
became clear that the media evidently controlled the way in which men and
woman perceived the women’s body. It was also clear to women that men
were buying these magazines to view images of other women, which did not
have a positive outcome on them.
Men’s magazines are, it seems, all about sex, booze and fags. A
cursory glance at the newsagent shelves stacking magazines for
men reveals a raft of blatant front cover images of scantily clad
young women and headlining of articles concerning sex or
alcohol-induced practical jokes.
(Benwell, 2012. p132).
It could be said that this objectification of women gave the idea to men that
they could feel free to harass women. This lead to the theory that, if women
were beautiful, they were more likely to be harassed. Despite the notion of
beauty being subjective, the media were effectively defining what could be
considered as beauty with regard to women.
“Beauty provokes harassment, the law says, but it looks through
men's eyes when deciding what provokes it.”
(Wolf, N. 1991)

4. Objectifying women in men’s media can also promote women to feel rebellious
and seen as significant. If a women acknowledges that they have a similar
body shape or look as the women that are portrayed in the media, they often
build up a need to feel that they want to be involved in this, essentially feeling
significant.
“What you have now then is the marketing of racialized identities as
tools for consumption. And certain racialized bodies and images are
associated with hipness, coolness, edginess. So all kinds of youth all
over the world are appropriating that style as a way of, sort of,
countering authority, stating their rebelliousness, and wanting to be
seen as significant.”
(Mesa-Bains, A. 2006)
An example of this act is shown in the men’s magazines such as Nuts and
Front magazine as they have designated sections in the magazine where
woman can send in photos of their body in a seductive manner.
This shows that the Media has tricked women into feeling that they should
show off their body, in order to be beautiful in the eyes of men, when the only
thing that is actually happening, is that the women are being objectified and
men now have the opportunity to fantasize other them in a sexual way, which
could lead to harassment as men now feel like they have permission.
As well as promoting women’s desire to be significant, the media are at the
same time objectifying women, which is known to create a negative effect on
them. For example, these women can develop a self-consciousness which
leads to anxiety and body shame. A woman’s presence in a men’s magazine
assumes an accepted beauty. However, when women do not have the same
body shape as the women illustrated, this can lead to them feeling that they are
not good enough or not beautiful.
Appearance anxiety increased after viewing advertisements featuring
idealized images. There was also a significant interaction between
self-objectification level and idealized body (presence vs. absence).

5. No differences emerged for body-related compared with non–body-
related product advertisements. The only result for body shame was
a main effect for time. Participants' body shame increased after
exposure to idealized images, irrespective of advertisement type.
(Weissman, 2005. p85)
As changes in societal views occurred, men’s magazines responded
accordingly and this prompted a release of a new breed of men’s magazines
which focused more on men’s lifestyles, and appropriately, on a more
sophisticated style of advertising, which concentrated more on men than
women. With the upcoming popularity of fashion and health magazines,
advertisers could now advertise using new methods to sell products which
made men feel that through purchasing these, they would improve themselves.
Through changing the focus of advertising, men could feel more comfortable
in purchasing the new style men’s magazine.
-(fig 1)
To illustrate the changes in the old and new style men’s magazines, the
'Kirsty Gallacher, Nuts June 2004', is a good exampleto gather and analyse
theold common stylemen’smagazine. Along withthe big bold red title, the
first thingthe audience will seeis a half-naked woman, posingin a very
seductivemanner. This styleof cover would clearly be to attract a man’s
attention to invite a purchase; the image was essentially to make them
desire to see further photographs of the woman on the inside pages.
Claims by Nuts magazine that it ‘delivers’ the best girls’ is designed firstly to
promote the idea that they are able to provide images which are superior to
those found in other magazines, and secondly, to suggest that they are
delivering a relationship between those pictured and the individual reader. ‘Nuts
gets you the best girls’. Ultimately, this is designed to encourage sales.
Semiotics also comes into the design of the men’s magazines. The big red title
‘Nuts’, will appeal to the target audience and grab attention. The title is in a

6. think, bold font with a solid drop shadow to symbolise the idea of ‘manliness’.
The woman illustrated on the cover of the publication is also looking straight at
the reader, to maximise her appeal to men and look more seductive.
10 years ago, men’s magazines were typically about 'pornography and sport'.
This is clearly shown in the Nuts headline 'Worlds sexiest football fan!'. At the
time, these two categories were the perfect platform for advertising to men in
order to gain more sales.
-(fig 2)
Today, the content and advertising in men’s magazines has changed
somewhat. This is in line with changes in societal ideas about women, and
what is no longer acceptable in how they are portrayed. Society in the UK is
now more aware of gender equality and efforts have been made to address
this through avoiding sexism.
Despite these changes, women still do feature in a way which would attract men
to buy the magazine, but this is in a more subtle way. For example, the front
cover of the GQ July 2014 issue states ‘Sex. A successful man’s guide to online
dating. By a woman who’s seen your tinder profile’ (Fig 2). It could be argued
that the inclusion in the statement that the guide was written by a woman, could
be a direct attempt to minimise any accusation of sexism.
- (fig 3)
Similarly to (fig2), the GQ August 2014 magazine, shows the same changes.
The magazine is still focusing on the self, using very sophisticated advertising
techniques, mainly focusing on men’s fashion. However, like the July edition,
this GQ magazine still highlights a section about sex. ‘A Boob-ier tube. GQ’s
guide to the new naked TV’. Unlike the July edition, this section doesn’t show

7. that it was wrote by a women. However, it doesn’t focus on any women in
particularly, therefore it still minimizes any sexism.
This new style of men’s magazine which has replaced the old style, focuses
more on the self, rather than on women. Features now include men’s health,
lifestyle and fashion with advertising following these themes. An example of
this is the front cover of the July 2014 issue of the GQ Magazine, which
states ‘Stay Cool, Look Sharp. The best suits, shoes and shades for
summer.’ (Fig 2)
Advertising plays a powerful role in the present century. Its aim is to
manipulate the consumer into purchasing products. The quote below by
Chuck Blore, a partner in the advertising firm Chuck Blore & Don Ruchman,
Inc., enhances an understanding of the general purpose of an
advertisement. Using knowledge from his statement, it would seem that the
only purpose of an advertisement is to sell in order to make profit.
"Advertising is the art of arresting the human intelligence just
long enough to get money from it."
(Blore, quoted in Bagdikian, 2000. p185)
Advertisements have had a major role in men's lifestyle magazines. Ever
since the mass media came about, it became natural for companies to
use magazines to communicate an awareness of their products to
readers. As the mass media has progressed, advertising methods and
techniques have advanced, becoming more sophisticated.
Advertisements now create consumer needs, by presenting luxuries
as necessities.
As methods and techniques of advertising have developed, it would seem
that the overall style of magazines in the 21st Century have changed with
them. Five to ten years ago, 'Men's magazines' generally referred to either

8. pornography or sport; in recent years, however, a new style of Men’s
magazines has appeared.
This new style of magazine is thick, crisp, glossy, low in content, and very
general. Examples of lifestyle magazines include FHM, Men's Journal,
Maxim, Men's Health, Men's Fitness, and GQ. These tend to focus on the
self, signifying the ways men can create an identity through the purchase
of a product, which will allow them to present themselves appropriately in
the desired cultural groups, which are created by the fashion industry.
"Fashion, clothing and dress are signifying practices, they are
ways of generating meanings, which produce and reproduce
those cultural groups along with their positions of relative
power”
(Barnard, 2002. p38)
This contributes to the existing knowledge of how the fashion industry
turns luxuries into necessities in order to maximise sales. The above
quote refers to how advertisements by the fashion industry are
produced to help their target market achieve a sense of identity which
brings them power or position in their culture groups. However, from
the writings of Chuck Blore, it would seem equally arguable to say that
the fashion industry produced the culture groups to begin with, for
people to fit in to. For example, the hippy trend grew partly out of the
fashion industry and to be a part of this social group, it could be said
that 'hipsters' were a necessity.
"The image of the community is purified of all that may convey
a feeling of difference, let alone conflict, in who 'we' are. In this
way, the myth of community solidarity is a purification ritual.
What is distinctive about this mythic sharing in communities is
that people feel they belong to each other, and share together,
because they are the same. The 'we' feeling, which expresses
the desire to be similar, is a way for men to avoid the necessity
of looking deeper into each other." (Sennett, R. p.36)

9. This finding shows one of the modern techniques of advertising and shows
how advertisements can trick their audience to feel unique, when in fact they
are all similar. This may also link with how companies can use
advertisements to trick people into feeling that they have a connection with
their products, making them believe that they can trust the brand to make
them a 'unique man'.
If an advertisement creates a bond between the company and the target
audience, the audience will then start to trust in the brand, concluding with
the audience continuingly to purchase products from the company earning
them a higher profit. It is still very clear that men’s magazines are a very
easy and effective platform to carry this out, also providing men’s
magazines to continue sales.
In conclusion, in the 21st
Century, men’s magazines now focus mainly on
men. This communication is presented in a way which seems to advise men
on how to improve their looks, their physical and emotional wellbeing.
However, the route to this is shown by advertising to be through the
purchase of products. This suggests that profit could be the main driver for
advertising content. This profit is needed partly in order to fund the
publications, especially considering the competition from the growth in on-
line information.
“Men’s magazines have changes drastically within the past 5-10 years with
the issues of Sexism and Objectification of women. Objectifying women in
men’s magazines tended to bring out a different side in women by either
making them feel like they should be involved in this activity, as they felt this
would make men think they are beautiful, or it made women feel no good
enough, living them feeling anxious and self conscious.”
(Mesa-Bains, A. 2006)

10. From the knowledge of Blore and Barnard the conclusion was made that
advertisements in 21st
century men’s lifestyle magazines use a very
sophisticated method in order to made the product advertisement
successful. This method consisted of tricking the reader in believing that,
from the purchase of their products, they can have the most power within
their desired social groups. Additionally, it was also acknowledged that the
media now turns luxuries into necessities, therefore it is the media that
created these modern social groups which the reader aspires to be a part of.
(Blore, C. (2000). Barnard, M. (2002).)
In the 21st
century, advertisements have become a very important role in
men’s magazines as they play a massive role in the funding of the
magazines, since the introduction of the mass media. Equally, this allows a
bigger platform the companies to advertise their new products, concluding in
both companies earning a greater profit.

11. Bibliography
Books
Smith, P. (2014), ''Nuts' Magazine To Close As Sales Drop From
300,000 To 50,000 In 10 Years'. Web. 31 Mar. 2015.
Gauntlet, D. (2002). Media, Gender and Identity: An Introduction,
Routledge, p.173.
Benwell, B. (2012). The Sociological Review, Special Issue:
Sociological Review Monograph Series: Masculinity and Men's Lifestyle
Magazines, p.132.
Wolf, N. (1991). The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty Are Used
Against Women, William Morrow and Company.
Mesa-Bains, A. (2006). Homegrown: Engaged Cultural Criticism, South
End Press.
Weissman, R. (2005). International Journal of Eating Disorders
Volume 38, Issue 1, p85–90, July 2005
Blore, C. (2000), The Media Monopoly, Sixth Edition, Boston, MA,
Beacon Press. p.185.
Barnard, M. (2002). Fashion as communication. New York, NY,
Routledge of the Taylor & Francis Group.
Sennett, R. (1996), 'The myth o f purified community', The Uses o f
Disorder:Personal Identity and City Style, London, Faber & Faber, p.36,
39.

12.
WORD COUNT: 2840
- (Fig 1) Nuts July 2014
- (Fig 2) GQ July 2014

13. - (Fig 3) GQ August 2014
WORD COUNT: 2840